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MR. BREWER, OF CAMBRIDGE, 






BSTORC T1IE .JOINT SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE UKUBLATOBS, 



ON THE SUBJECT OK 



THE LIQpOE LAW, 

.at. tii^.. ... .. . ... 

PUBLIC HEARING IN THE 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



TUESDAY. P. M. MARCH 15, 1853. 



BOSTON : 
C C. P. JIOOHV, PBTATEB. 




Class hV5^Q 

BoQk- .M*l*B* 



REMARKS 



MR. BREWER, OF CAMBRIDGE, 



BEFOi'.E THE JOINT SFKUIi COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATURE, 



OX Till: SUBJECT OF 



THE LIQUOR LAW, 



PUBLIC HEARING IN TILE 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



TO -PAY. T. M. JIAIK/H 15, 1S53. 



BOSTON : 

C. C. P. MOODY, FRINTLR. 



A 



HV 50RO 



IN EXCHANGE 



COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Siu i Boi BB, March 11, 18J3. 
The Committee on the Petition of Thos. II. Pkhkins and 
other- tor a repeal of the law passed at the last BessiOD of the 
Legislature, entitled "An act concerning the manufacture and 
sale o\ spirituous or intoxicating liquors,*' have passed the fol- 
lowing vote, viz : That the Committee give public notiee that 
they will be in session in the Hall of the House of Represen- 
tative*, on TUESDAY AFTERNOON next, at 3 o'clock, to 
hear all persons interested in the repeal of the Liquor Law of 

By order of the Committee. 

BENJAMIN STEVENS. 

S e r geant-at- Arms. 



[Note. — In consequence of the very incorrect reports in 
the newspapers, I have thought it justifiable and prudent to 
put the manuscript from which I read the remarks, directly in- 
to the hands of the printer, that my friends could — so far as 
they might feel interested — know exactly what I did say. The 
remarks are precisely as delivered, without one syllable of al- 
teration. And as such, they are printed for private distribu- 
tion.] W. A. B. 



B EMAB KS. 



M ::. t'liAi ;\!A\ 

The Bubjeci which has drawn together this large 
assembly, is one that lias moved the reelings of the peo- 
ple oi this ancienl Commonwealth as much or more, 

than any public measure since the days of tin" revolu- 
tion. Up to our last session, in the chamber of the com- 
mittee who have called this meeting, there had accu- 
mulated upon its table eighty petitions lor the Repeal 
of the existing Act of this Commonwealth, entitled 
••.1.1 i the man tfacture and sale of Spiritu- 

xicating Liquors." These petitions ema- 
rom seventy-eeven cities and towns, and embrace 
the names of 10,"it)o legal voters. 

There have also been referred to your committee 

one hundred and fifty-one remonstrances against the 

repeal ol 1 A< t. coming from one hundred and forty- 

and towns, and signed by 19,348 persons who 

. believed to be legal voters, with the ex- 

of 1,625 females, principally operatives in the 
Lowell and elsewhere. 
The question before us now is, shall this Act be re- 
pealed ? Or shall it stand, as the embodiment of the 
statute-law and ol" the will of the people of this Com- 
monwealth ? 

To this question, Mr. Chairman, I will endeavor 
strictly lo confine myself, in the brief remarks I propose 
to offer on this occasion. And. sir. though the form 
may not be so acceptable, I have thought it a safer 
course on more than one account, to write out what 1 
have to say. 

I am present here, sir, as von are aware, in the of- 
1* 



ficial capacity of a member of the joint special com- 
mittee of the Legislature, to whom this subject was re- 
ferred by the co-ordinate acts of the two branches. But, 
sir, I claim no right as such ; neither do I yield any as 
such. I speak as an individual citizen, — as a man. I 
am neither a petitioner for repeal, nor a remonstrant 
against it, in so far as my name is not found on any 
paper upon your table. 

Neither have I come to the Legislature with any in- 
structions from my constituents on this subject, nor 
would I ever have so come. Moreover the inhabitants 
of the city of Cambridge, I believe, have neither sent 
up petitions nor remonstrances on this subject, with a 
single exception in the form of a petition for Repeal 
from the pastor of one of the churches, signed also by 
one of the officers of his church. I had the honor to 
present that petition to the House of Representatives ; 
and when it was handed to me by that clergyman, he 
said he would like to have a hearing upon the matter ; 
and possibly he may be present and will urge his own 
suit. 

Mr. Chairman, notwithstanding what I have said, I 
will not disguise the fact that I am in favor of the re- 
peal of the Act of 1852. Not because I wish ardent 
spirits and intoxicating liquors to be as free as water. 
By no means. Sir, if the " Maine Law," so called, had 
restricted its operations to that which is indicated by 
its title, to wit, " the suppression of drinking-houses 
and tippling shops," every decent person, man, woman, 
and child in Massachusetts, would have cried out with 
one voice, when it was proposed to introduce it into 
this State, All hail, all hail ! 

My reasons for urging the repeal of this law, are, 
that I consider it arbitrary and vindictive in its charac- 
ter, repugnant to the genius of our Republican institu- 
tions, inconsistent with the mild and peaceful spirit of 



Christianity, and in conflict with the Constitution both 
of the United States, and of this Commonwealth. 

In each and all of these positions 1 may be mistaken. 
And if 1 am, I trust I shall not be regarded as an ene- 
my oi thai cause which I have endeavored for thirty 
year- to foster by precept and example. 

• is human : lo forght, tlicine." 

This law, Mr. Chairman, is. without question, un- 
paralleled for stringency in regard to what beverage 

men may or may not buy and sell, and constructively, 

as to what they may or may not drink. No Christian 
however absolute, ever approximated to the com- 
mencement ol" so stringent legislation on such a sub- 

jeet. prior to the enactment ol" the •• .Maine Licpior 
Law." This is the view of the case, as 1 have it from 
some o\ the most learned of my constituents, as well 
as from others who are well read in history, and who 
have travelled extensively in the various civilized por- 
tions of the earth. 

I rejoice, sir. and will ever rejoice in every effort to 
do away with '-the drinking usages of society." by 
precept, by example, by wholesome legislation embrac- 
ing a rigid but judicious system of licensing the sale of 
wines, spirituous, and fermented licjuors. But, sir, I 
do not believe in making a man a temperate man in 
this country by law. A drunkard is not a temperate 
man. because by law he is absolutely deprived of the 
means of gratifying his unnatural thirst. A murderer 
is no less so. because he cannot obtain the instrument 
of his choice, for the destruction of his victim. A ma- 
niac is no less so for his straight jacket. So sudden a 
leap in legislation, conflicting with the long estal I 

social habits of a community, is felt to be oppn sive, 
and in my judgment will certainly recoil upon its au- 
thors and society. 



8 

Again, in the 14th section of the law, it is thought to 
encourage a system of espionage that needlessly en- 
croaches upon the privacies of the domestic hearth, and 
into the sacred domains of the castle of home. I claim 
that this is so. 

Its abrogation of contracts to pay, where a quid pro 
quo has been rendered, has been thought to be not only 
unusual, but as countenancing repudiation, and as 
tending to legalize frauds. In this sentiment I fully 
concur. 

The law, in prohibiting the manufacture and sale of 
any liquor " part of which is spirituous" without pro- 
viding in any of its sections for the necessities of Drug- 
gists and Apothecaries, is thought to be calculated to 
ostracise their art and trade in the estimation of the 
community. Pharmaceutic manipulations require the 
presence and unrestrained freedom to use spirituous li- 
quors ; and a part of the ordinary business of the Apoth- 
ecary is to dispense numerous medicinal compounds in 
the form of tinctures, &c, in regard to each of which 
it may be said, " a part of ivhich is spirituous." The 
dispensation of unmedicated liquors, fermented and dis- 
tilled, for the use of the sick, and for uses in the arts, is 
by this law diverted from this class of tradesmen, and 
absorbed by the government, in its various agencies, 
and pecuniary profits denied to individuals, are appro- 
priated to the Government. Thus the mother lives up- 
on the life's blood of her children. 

On these various accounts, the law is accounted ar- 
bitrary. 

In the second place, Mr. Chairman, the severity of 
the penalties imposed by this Law upon rendition of 
judgment : its conditions of appeal from the decisions 
in the lower courts ; its concentration of power in pet- 
ty officials ; the precipitancy with which it forces ac- 
cused parties to trial — making their cases take prece- 
dence of all but criminal cases under certain circumstan- 



9 

- provision for incapacitation of a convicted party 

to serve on a jury : its authorization o( the destruction of 

merchandize not mahtm in sc ; — all these have made 

the law to appear to many intelligenl persons as vin- 

! my judgment accords with tliis view. 

Thirdly, — li has been said that the true spirit and 
genius of Republican institutions, is. to give to each 
individual as much liberty as is consistent with the 
public- good. .Many, however, regard this law as 
abridging as much as possible the liberty which has 
been conceded in all past ages, and by all past legisla- 
tion — tin- world over, excepting in Mohammedan coun- 
tries — as an inherent right, up to the year 1850, to wit, 
the liberty to buy. sell, anil use distilled, vinous, and 
fermented liquors. In short, its stringent prohibitory 
features are considered as repugnant to the genius of lie- 
n institutions. It has also been supposed that 
the operation of this law is calculated to detract from 
and break down that spirit ol liberty, which constitutes 
one kA the most powerful elements in the sustentation 
of this American Republic, and indirectly to open the 
avenues of despotism and absolutism, to supplant our 
institutions, under the specious garb of moral reform. 

In the fourth place, — The Scriptures everywhere re- 
cognize the existence of exhilerating drinks, which, 
when used to excess, produced intoxication ; and while 
their maledictions are dealt out without limit upon the 
drunkard, and while they inlerentially discourage the 
frequent and constant use of strong drinks, they are 
thought not to furnish an instance of reprobation to- 
ward the maker or vender. While in them the Chris- 
tian virtue of temperance is everywhere inculcated, it 
is by a mildness ol precept, and a substantiality of ex- 
ample, that arc calculated to operate as silently as leav- 
en, rather than as a whip of scorpions, in the propaga- 
tion of its pure principles. In these and other respects^ 



10 

many citizens of this Commonwealth consider the pre- 
sent Liquor Law as inconsistent with the mild and peace- 
ful spirit of Christianity. I most certainly think so. 

Fifthly. — In the Constitution of the United States, 
Art. 1 : Section VIII. full power is given to Congress, 
" To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises." 
It is also authorized " to regulate commerce with Foreign 
nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian 
tribes." And it is required " to make all laius which shall 
be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the 
foregoing powers." The importation and traffic in spir- 
its, wines, and fermented malt-liquors is exceedingly 
large, unrestrained by Congress, and recognized as law- 
ful by the imposition of duties. The prohibition of 
them in the States, must have a serious bearing upon 
the revenue ; and this prohibition, as well, as the con- 
fiscation of them after payment of duties, is considered 
to be in conflict with the Constitution and Laws of the 
United States, to support which, every member of this 
Legislature is under the paramount obligations of an 
official oath. 

Finally, — as it respects the Constitution of this Com- 
monwealth. In the first paragraph of Article 1st, in 
the Bill of Eights, it is said, " All men are born free 
and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and inal- 
ienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right 
of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties ; that 
of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property," &c. 
And it has been thought beyond a question, that at the 
time of the adoption of the Constitution, and ever af- 
terward until within two years, ardent spirits, wines, 
and fermented malt-liquors, were and have been con- 
sidered property, and in the administration of the laws, 
they have been deemed and dealt with as such. But 
the present Liquor-law, by seizure and destruction, and 
by the invalidation of debts contracted for such liquors, 



11 

impliedly declares them not property in the hands ol 
the people; bat at the Bame time] the authorized buy- 
ing and Belling by constituted Agents, recognizes them 
as property in the hands of the Government 

Ag un, in the 10th paragraph of the Bame Article in 
the Bill of Rights, it is implied that the property of a 
subject shall not be taken from him unless the public. 
exigencies require ; -and whenever the public exigencies 
require that the property of any individual shall be ap- 
propriated to public uses, he shall receive a reasonable 
compensation therefor."' The confiscation and destruc- 
tion of spirituous liquors possessed by citizens, seems 
to militate with this clause in our State constitution. 
I believe it do< 3. 

The twelfth paragraph of the same Article, provides 
ill be held to answer for any crime or 
. until the same is fully and plainly, substantially 
•molly described to Kim, £c. n " And every person 
shall have a right to produce all proofs that may be favor- 
able to him." The hurried processes required by the 
present Liquor Law, are thought to be irreconcilable 
with these provisions. 

Ir is also thought that the right of search according 
to the 14th paragraph of Article 1, in the Bill of Rights, 
is transcended by the provisions of the present law. 

The 18th paragraph of the same Article, prescribes 
among other virtues, >; moderation, , '' as " absolutely neces- 
p re se r ve the advantages of liberty, and to maintain 
■ ' government.'" But it has been and is now con- 
sidered by many, that there is a great lack of modera- 
tion in the provisions of the Law under consideration. 

It is for these reasons, Mr. Chairman, that the op- 
portunity is embraced by me to express the wish that 
this law might be wholly and unconditionally repealed. 
I regard it as an act of very little intrinsic merit as a 
piece of legislation. I regard it as the offspring of a 



/< 



12 



feverish ambition for notoriety on the part of a single 
individual originally, who with some tact at diploma- 
cy performed a sort of coup oVetat in the State of Maine. 
Its adoption by the people to any extent in that and 
other States, has doubtless been prompted by a spirit 
•of benevolence and humanity, but, — in our own State 
at least, — sadly mixed up with political demagogueism 
and charlatanry. 

In conclusion, sir, I argue for the repeal of this law, 
let us fall back upon whatever statutes of former days 
we may ; or let us make whatever other laws it may 
be thought best on the whole to enact. We may do 
better ; but can hardly do worse. For my own part, I 
think we had laws enough before this was enacted, but 
they lacked execution. As an American I urge the re- 
peal of this law worthy of Austria or Russia, and as in 
duty bound will ever pray. 



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